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Taxonomy and Phylogeny

Taxonomy and phylogeny are two concepts involved in the classification of organisms. Taxonomy is a branch of biology that concerns the naming and classifying organisms based on their similarities and dissimilarities in their characteristics. Phylogeny is the branch of science which concerns the evolutionary relationship of a species or a group of species with a common ancestor. Phylogenetic trees are constructed considering the evolutionary history and relationships. Although these trees are hypothesized constructions, phylogeny is a useful tool in taxonomy when classifying organisms. Thus, the key difference between taxonomy and phylogeny is that taxonomy involves naming and classifying organisms while phylogeny involves the evolution of the species or groups of species.